Brush assembly with attachment clamp



g- 4, 1964 o. E. HENSLEY 3,142,853

BRUSH ASSEMBLY WITH ATTACHMENT CLAMP Filed April 1, 1963 14 210 Z .10INVENTOR. 0am E HEMSLEY United States Patent Oflice 3,142,853 BRUSHASSEMBLY WITH ATTACHMENT CLAMP Orvil E. Hensley, 21324 Meyler Ave.,Torrance, Calif. Filed Apr. 1, 1963, Ser. No. 269,624 1 Claim. (Cl.15-160) This invention relates to a brush assembly having particularutility for (detachable) connection to a golf cart or the like. Thedevice presents an upturned (wire) brush mounted in position wherein aperson can readily draw the sole of his boot or shoe across the brushsurface to clean off mud or other adhering substance. It is particularlyuseful thus to clean the cleats or spikes which are fastened to thebottom of track shoes or golfers shoes. In addition, the brush head canbe readily detached from the rest of the assembly and manually appliedto clean the wheels of the golf cart, clubs, or other objects. Likewise,when mounted at foot level, other objects beside shoes can be drawn overit for cleaningfor example, the head of a golf club, or a ball, etc.

A particular feature of the invention is a clamp unit by which suchassembly can be securely fastened to (cylindrical) shafts of differentdiameters, by such a firm anchorage that foot pressure upon the brushhead in a direction more-or-less parallel to the supporting shaft, willnot displace the clamped unit lengthwise along the shaft. The presentconstruction also enables the brush head to be disposedat two alterntaepositions perpendicular to each other so that a person may draw hismounted shoe thereover from different angles or directions in orderbetter to clean it; or alternately the assembly can be attached to asupporting object (such as a projecting pipe or building conduit) whereone position or the other may be more satisfactory.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the descriptionproceeds, having particular reference to the accompanying drawingsshowing a presently preferred embodiment of the invention wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a golf cart with my brush assemblymounted thereon in functional position;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the brush assembly;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevation as viewed in the direction of the arrow inFIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view taken in the direction of the arrowin FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a bottom plan view;

FIGURE 6 is an end elevation of the clamp as seen in the direction ofthe arrow of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 7 is a fragmental view in topplan, showing the shank of the brushassembly disposed perpendicular to the clamp.

To illustrate one intended use, the brush assembly A is here shownattached to the principal upright shaft S of a two-wheeled carrier for agolf bag, commonly known as a golf cart" C. The clamp proper is formedof two, proximately articulated, pieces, of which the longer and lowerone (in use) 10 is an elongated, generally flat member having a centralchannel 11 formed by a generally parallel pair of side or edge walls 12,14 projecting upward for a short height along opposite longitudinalmargins. From a common transverse line of origin aa, the lower wall 14extends completely to the distal end 15 of the channel, while theopposite, shorter wall 12 stops short of the distal end of the channelby a distance equal at least to the width of the overlying couplingmember 16.

The proximate end of the channel member is formed with a pair of short,perpendicularly downturned tabs 18, projecting from opposite side edgesof the channel and separated by a central open-end slot 22 extending ashort distance inward, in general alignment with the longitudinal axisof the channel.

3,142,853 Patented Aug. 4, 1964 The coupling member 16 is formed with aflat plate portion 24 receivable in justaposition with the channel 11between edge walls 12, 14. Proximately adjacent, is an outwardly bowedportion or yoke 26 adapted to partially encircle and frictionallyembrace a shaft S when the latter is in abutment with the ends of theedge walls 12, 14 along the lines aa. Outwardly the yoke 26 merges intoa laterally restricted neck 28 which is loosely received in the slot 22.

Along the rear face of the channel member 10, the neck 28 flareslaterally to form a transverse abutment edge or terminal segment 30which serves as a fulcrum or pivot line for swinging the coupling member16 toward and away from the seated position of the plate 24 in thechannel 11; that is, whether or not the plate portion 24 comes down incomplete juxtaposition with the channel floor 11 depends upon thethickness of the shaft S embraced by the yoke 26.

The plate portion 24 is traversely apertured more-orless centrally and aspot weld nut 32 is welded thereto with its tapped opening or threadedneck (FIGURE 4) fixed in the aperture so as to receive therethru afastening element such as a nut 36 and headed bolt 38. The shaft of thelatter is consecutively inserted thru an elongated slot 40 which extendslongitudinally to the channel 11 so that the coupling plate 16 can beadjusted lengthwise along the chanel 11 (the neck 28 sliding along theslot 22) to accommodate shafts S of different diameters thus clamped bythe unit. In other words, referring to FIG- URE 4, the yoke 26 can beadjusted from right to left (to the depth of the slot 22), and also upand down by moving the nut 36 so as jointly to fit a shaft which isembraced by the yoke 26.

At the distal end of the channel 11, a flat-ended shank 42, which may bespirally twisted 45 or so along its longitudinal axis, terminally oroutwardly supports a brush head 44 which may have rows of wire bristles46 set in a wooden or plastic backing 48 and held to the shank by anopposing pair of inturned side-engaging jaws 50, 52. The shank 42 hasslightly less width than the channel 11 and is formed with alongitudinal, closed slot 54 by which an inserted thumb screw 56 fastensthe shank 42 against the channel member 10 at selected positions oflongitudinal displacement, or alternately with the shank 42 disposedtransversely (FIGURE 7). It will be observed that with the butt end 41of the shank 42 held against the long wall 14, and with the edge 43lodged against the end of the shorter wall 12, the brush head issecurely anchored; in addition, it can be fastened at any intermediateangle thru the possible turn. When longitudinally aligned with thechannel 11, the sides of the shank 42 can be slid more-or-less looselybetween the channel walls 12, 14 to a fully inserted position (FIGURE 2)wherein the end 41 is inserted between the plate 24 and the channel 11before the bolt 38 is fastened, thus affording a greater adjustabilityto the yoke 26 in attaching to a larger diameter shaft S. The end 58 ofthe screw 56 is threadedly received in another spot-weld nut 60, whilethe flat-sided head of the screw, when disposed parallel to the slot 54,allows the shank 42 (and brush head 44) to be easily detached from theclamp unit by being lifted off over the top of the retained screw 56. Inother words, the clamp can be left attached to the golf cart, and thebrush head removed for cleaning the wheels (or other objects) withoutcompletely unscrewing the thumb screw 56; in the same manner, a newbrush head can be substituted for the old worn one.

I claim:

A brush assembly of the character described, adapted for detachablemounting to the shaft of a golf cart and the like, and comprising incombination:

(a) a generally fiat-bottom, longitudinal channel memher havinggenerally parallel edge Walls upstanding along opposite sides, one ofwhich Walls extends beyond the other one toward the distal end of the 4embraced by said bowed portion by permitting positioning of therestricted neck along said slot toward and away from the adjacent endsof said side walls;

(d) a shank carrying a brush head at its outer end and channel, and bothof which walls end short of the 5 having a generally flat, inner enddisposable in juxtaproximate end of said member, the proximate endposition with the distal end of said channel, and lockof said memberbeing formed with a pair of downing means adapted to secure saidjuxtaposed flat end turned tabs, laterally spaced apart to define anopen selectively (1) parallel to the channel and alternately ended slotin general alignment with the longitudinal clear of and received betweenthe fiat portion of the axis of the channel; 10 coupling plate and saidchannel, and (2) transverse (b) an opposing coupling plate formed with agenerally flat portion receivable in juxtaposition within said channel,an adjacent, outwardly bowed portion to said channel and in end abutmentwith said longer side wall, which shank and brush head are selectivelydetachable from said channel member.

adapted to frictionally embrace a shaft to which the assembly isattached, and a proximate portion dis- 15 posable transverse to thechannel member and characterized by a laterally restricted neckreceivable in References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS said slot, and a laterally flared, terminal segment 858,140Beaten June 25, 1907 pivotally engageable beneath said downturned tabs;1,329,694 Beck Feb. 3, 1920 (c) a fastening element adapted to securesaid flat 20 1,821,024 Noble Sept. 1, 1931 portion and said channelmember in juxtaposition 2,491,009 Lawrence Dec. 13, 1949 and having alimited radial adjnstability in the di- 2,514,743 Carson July 11, 1950rection of the longitudinal axis of the channel mem- 3,028,617 RacinaApr. 10, 1962 her so as to accommodate shafts of different diameter

